


Obligations

by pomegrenadier



Series: In the Wings [1]
Category: Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines (Video Game)
Genre: Depressingly Justified Trust Issues, Gen, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Introspection, Mind Control, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:48:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24705610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pomegrenadier/pseuds/pomegrenadier
Summary: Victor gets a sense of downtown's political situation.
Series: In the Wings [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1735327
Comments: 6
Kudos: 24





	Obligations

**Author's Note:**

> Man I could wax poetic about how great the whole "LaCroix will use Dominate on a fledgling who tries to refuse a main quest" thing is, just, like, from a game design perspective, but mostly I'm here for the sneaky THEMES.

The Camarilla sound like a not entirely garbage idea in theory. They're slightly better than the Sabbat, at least. And maybe, if Victor had just cooperated, if he'd just smiled and nodded and followed orders like a good little neonate—

—but LaCroix would still be the kind of person to hit him with a Dominate the second Victor tried to say no.

And the thing is, Dominate is not unique to asshole Ventrue. Victor can use it. It's ... easy. It is so fucking easy to reach into people's heads and start pulling levers and switches. It _scares_ him, how easy it is. He pushed those thugs at the diner to go away, and they went. _Leave me alone._ He distracted the Sabbat lackeys in the warehouse, before he killed them. _Look over there._

She told him to lie down and—

No. Not thinking about that. Preferably never thinking about that. Victor forces his hand away from the side of his neck. Curls the fingers into a fist. Exhales.

_You will go to the Elizabeth Dane._ Because he's convenient—competent enough to have a shot at succeeding, but entirely disposable if he fails. Win-win for the Prince of Los Angeles.

He'll go to the goddamn _Elizabeth Dane._ He's pretty sure that he wouldn't be able to stop himself if he tried. The order's still tugging at him, quiet but insistent, fucking _constant,_ and it's getting worse.

He'll go. He'll _go,_ already. Like he has a fucking choice.

* * *

Strauss scares him as much as LaCroix does. Maybe even more. Because Strauss is friendly. Strauss is welcoming. Strauss is skeptical of LaCroix's leadership. Strauss has a library full of magical books, and a hallway that he somehow turned into a fucking Mobius strip, and centuries of experience. Strauss has indicated that he'd like Victor to join Clan Tremere proper. Like a good little neonate.

Strauss can do everything Victor can do, and more.

Strauss can use Dominate.

Strauss can _make_ him obey.

So Victor will be polite and respectful and keep the swearing to a minimum. He will not be irreverent or sarcastic. He'll ask intelligent questions and agree to help address the ongoing public health crisis. He will do all of this, and not piss off the nice vampire wizard, and not give him any excuse to force the issue. He will not give Strauss any reason to reveal himself to be another piece of shit who won't take no for an answer.

Camarilla power players and the threat of mind control seem to be a package deal.

* * *

Victor didn't think he was that good with people, but all it took to flip the Anarchs from open hostility to something approaching friendliness was thirty seconds of willingness to hear them out.

And by "the Anarchs" he means Damsel and Skelter. Nines is one of vanishingly few people in a position of any power who has actively tried to help him, these past few days. Nights. Fuck. Regardless, he appreciates it.

The others ... it's not that he dislikes them. He doesn't even disagree with them, necessarily. Hell, on the scale of people asking him to do shit for them, they rate pretty highly. But once they were done talking business, once he was a person to them instead of just LaCroix's minion—God, he couldn't do it. He just couldn't. It was too much, _they_ were too much, they didn't do anything wrong but—he couldn't stick around.

But hey—no bridges burned, a few potential allies courted, some new information from Jack, no fresh orders squirming through his insides. Not a complete loss. If he manages to solve the plague problem and deal with the rogue ghoul, the Anarchs might actually owe _him_ a favor or two.

If it were the other way around—no, it already is the other way around. Nines saved his life, twice. All he asked for in return was a conversation.

Victor is slightly alarmed by how much he wants to trust Nines. How much he wants to believe that if he said no, if he tried to walk away, Nines would let him go—even if Nines could use Dominate. But Nines can't, so there's no point in speculating, so Victor should just be grateful for microscopic mercies and move the fuck on and stop being so fucking naive.

And he should go to the goddamn _Elizabeth Dane._


End file.
